8 • Marina Times • February 2009 Marina Times • February 2009 • 9

STREET BEATBY COW HOLLOW CLYDE

NETTIEʼS SUNDAY NIGHT CRAB FEED WILL BECOME A COW HOLLOW TRADITION

1863 1896 1909

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A RESERVATIONPLEASE VISIT WWW.CLIFFHOUSE.COM OR CALL 415-386-3330

1090 POINT LOBOS • SAN FRANCISCO

A TRADITION OF HOSPITALITY & HISTORY

Experience the contemporary American cuisine of San Francisco's

legendary chef George Morrone!

Sutro’s at the Cliff House

OK, THE PALM TREE JUST LOOKS LIKE IT COMES OUT OF THE ROOF AT NETTIEʼS!

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Low-Impact Dance MovesRap-Free Environment!

Try your fir fir rst class for FREE!Mondays 7:30 - 8:30 PMPresidio Dance Theater

1158 Gorgas at Marshall

Twist...Swim...Pony...and Cha-Cha your way to fitness!

The Groovy 60s Workout!Õ

©Boomercize 2009

For more information, call (415) 608-4503 or visit boomercize.com

¨

Please confirm class schedule in advance.

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Silicon Valley Community NewspaperSize: 1/10s

NO DOOM AND GLOOM HERE

Clyde’s mom told him there are two kinds of people in this world: whin-ers and those who get on with it. For

the most part, Clyde has seen that Marina/Cow Hollow business owners and residents are getting on with it. Whiners complained even while Joe Montana was throwing touchdowns and tak-ing the Niners to four Super Bowls. Hello, with few exceptions we were always in the hunt for the Super Bowl and rarely had a losing season during the Joe Montana/Steve Young eras. These past five seasons have shown us it’s better to make the playoffs and lose than not make the dance at all. Whiners complained when dot com dough flooded their portfolios and the good times were rolling. Whiners are complaining now as the economy sputters, yet still moves for-ward. Clyde is going to take a look at those who are getting on with it, and not whining. Clyde has no time for the whiners; they don’t know when they have it good, and they become insufferable when things turn bad.

NETTIEʼS CRAB SHACK

Annette Yang has worked in San Francisco’s best restaurants – Square One, Aqua, Gordon’s House of Fine Eats, Foreign Cinema, Jack Falstaff, and Home. The first thing Clyde noticed about her is that she’s comfortable in her own skin, she’s not afraid of hard work, and she’s definitely not a whiner. Even during these topsy-turvy times, she has opened Nettie’s Crab Shack in a

space that has seen restaurants come and go. Famed chef Gordon Drysdale nicknamed her “Nettie,” and the name fit for the really casual dining experience she wanted to pro-vide. Yang and her partners are in for the long haul, so she made the open-air patio on Union Street spacious for both business and vis-ibility. If any of you have walked by Nettie’s on a sunny day, the patio is always packed. Yes, Annette, the vis-ibility is working, and gives a new dimension to al fresco in Cow Hollow. First comes the restaurant. She wanted to create the “it’s like being in your second home” vibe. Clyde’s dinner partner said he felt like he was in the Hamptons or Tahoe. The interior has that nautical vibe with a palm tree in the middle of it, and it has that ship feel she wanted. Mission accomplished, Ms. Yang! Then comes the food. Clyde is a fan of family-style eating (as is Yang) after thou-sands of North Beach meals over the years. From 5–10 p.m. on Sunday nights, she has a crab feed for $40, and it’s quite the munch. How can one get more family-style than by boiling crabs, artichokes and potatoes in one pot? The place was packed when Clyde was there, and huge communal tables were full of former strangers who were now bonding

in crustacean ecstasy! Annette even schooled lifelong-San Franciscan Clyde on eating the crab guts known as “crab butter” by dipping the fresh-baked cornbread into it. Clyde did

not know about crab butter until going to Nettie’s. She hops from table to table, show-ing people how to crack the crab and chitchatting with eaters. She wanted the clambake feel on Sundays, and she got it. Sundays are now all about Nettie’s for the Clydester – how

about you? Nettie’s Crab Shack: 2032 Union Street (at Buchanan); daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m.; 415-409-0300, www.nettiescrabshack.com

BOOMERCIZE®

Are you old enough to remember the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show? Then Marcie Judelson’s Boomercize® is the class for you. Why? “Let’s not forget that your average boomer doesn’t fancy being in a class full of buffed 20-somethings – it’s intimidating! So I’m providing a comfortable, nonthreatening environment,” says Judelson. The cool part about the class is the tunes, according to Marcie. “Lots of boomers – myself included – really hate most aerobics classes, mostly because we hate the music! We don’t relate to it – it’s loud and bombastic. Personally, I’ve always hated aerobics music, even when I was a 20-something. That’s one thing I hear a lot from my students; they love the music I play. It makes a huge difference. I play ’60s music – the melodies have great, danceable rhythms; they’re familiar songs; it’s fun and motivating; and it doesn’t feel like exercise. I like to say that I offer a ‘totally rap-free environment!’” Clyde usually froths at the mouth when rap is played. You go, Marcie. Her goals are simple. “Ultimately, the goal is to get people exercising more – we all need to exercise, and we all hate to exercise! So it’s got to be fun or you won’t stick with it. Boomercize® routines are designed to be energetic, to gradually get your heart rate up and provide a good cardio workout, [and to] improve coordination and balance; but they’re geared towards people 50-plus, so they’re not overly strenuous. The key is that it’s fun! The routines feature popular music from the ’60s – all recognizable songs includ-

ing Motown hits, the Four Seasons, Roy Orbison, the Beach Boys, the Supremes, and many more.” Marcie gets people “in touch with their bodies” when maybe they’ve been out of touch for too long. If you’ve been missing the popular dance steps from the ’60s – the Twist, the Pony, the Swim, the Cha-Cha, etc. – and don’t want to be bored on the tread-mill, Boomercize® is for you. There’s also something in it for the teacher. “It forces me to exercise! I can’t exactly make an excuse if I have to show up and teach the class.” Judelson is an advertising creative direc-tor in her day job, but has loved music and dance her whole life, and even spins records at a local radio station. She also teaches her class at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, and has even danced with the health conscious at the famous Rancho La Puerta spa in Baja California. So give Marcie a call, an e-mail, or check her Web site for Boomercize® class availability. Although she tells Clyde all ages are welcome, she provides boomers a comfort level they aren’t going to get at the gym. “It’s not intimidating. We’re not a bunch of super-fit 20-somethings; it’s a comfortable environment. We have nothing to prove and we’re not out to compete with each other.” It sounds like Marcie is moving too fast to make excuses about anything, and never finds time to whine. Boomercize®: Presidio Dance Theater, 1158 Gorgas Avene (at Marshall, near Crissy Field); Mondays, 7:30–8:30 p.m. (subject to change), 415-608-4503, www.boomercize.com, marciejudelson@comcast.net

CLIFF HOUSE

Ah, the Cliff House, one of Clyde’s favor-ite haunts over the years. The place has quite simply stood the test of time and adapted itself along the way. Perhaps that’s why the Cliff House has been in business in some form or another since 1863. Since the remodel in 2003, some whiners have told Clyde the place isn’t what it used to be. As usual, the whiners are wrong. Frankly, Clyde hung out there in 2002 and the landmark had seen better days. Thank God for the remodel – the place was falling into the ocean. The Cliff House is back to its “where San Francisco begins” roots. It has a rocking view, and even at night Captain Clyde felt like he was sailing his vessel during another era, as foghorns blasted and ship traffic blinked on the horizon. The Cliff House isn’t going anywhere because of good rela-tions with its landlord, the feds (GGNRA).

If 1090 Point Lobos Avenue fell off your list, it’s time to put it back on. Clyde and his date recently had dinner at Sutro’s at the Cliff House. Joel, our server, knew everything about the menu, but strongly suggested we try highly regarded chef George Marrone’s tasting menu. We did, and Clyde was in food heaven. Foie gras (off the menu and off the hook), ahi tuna tartare (had some zip from the habanero-infused sesame oil), a lovely Dungeness crab bisque (best crab soup the Clydester has ever had), seared day boat scallops (to kill for), Maine lobster ravioli (Clyde died and went to heaven), venison (to die for), and a dessert sampler (OK, Clyde’s working on his gut, capisce?). The Cliff House provides three options: the Bistro carries San Francisco fare, Sutro’s is a fine dining experience, and the Terrace Room is available for private parties (ring Virginia Casey, 415-666-4027, www.cliffhouse.com/terrace). To get a better picture of where the Cliff House has been and where it is now, Clyde spoke to executive chef Kevin Weber, and he explained there are two absolutes about the landmark. “It has always mirrored San Francisco and its times, and most San Franciscans feel like they own the building [when they come],” said Weber. Kevin’s been at the Cliff House for 35 years and has seen many incarnations. “Back in the day, it was a Hells Angels bar. We’d give them their own section; they were fine.” He started in the bar and served a lot of Irish coffees (it’s cold at Lands End). “Make 28!” he said the

waiter would yell. “He didn’t even have to call out the name.” Kevin quickly moved to the kitchen because, “It’s a family back there. My assistant has been here 30 years. Blanche has been here 37 years and is still in the gift shop and waits tables on weekends.” He said that during the ’70s, “It was a fern bar like Henry Africa’s or Lord Jim’s.” Kevin looks at the renovation as progress, “although with the 2003 modernization, we lost some of the comfort. The changes made it much more modern, but it had to be done; you [could] put your hand through the wall.” The location is awesome, but the Cliff House does take Mother Nature’s fury, and must be built to withstand wicked storms. “The facade of the Cliff House has been there 100 years,” said the executive chef, and added matter-of-factly, “and there are ghosts here. Friendly ghosts like Casper, but ghosts.” Clyde wanted to know where. “In the elevator shaft – they move between the floors – and people who don’t work here feel them.” “[There’s] always a balance between the new and the old. So you’ve got to honor the past and embrace the future.” The architects weren’t messing around on the redesign, and had history in mind. “The Sutro restaurant is the same design as the old Sutro Baths. [Adolph] Sutro used to like to hang out and watch people swim, so it’s the same design in the restaurant; you can hang out in the Sutro Bar and watch people eat,” said Kevin. The view’s not bad either. The night Clyde popped in, there was an easy-on-the-ears jazz

band enhancing that view. Most people like to whine about the federal government, but not Weber. “When [the GGNRA] bought the area in 1977, they took the long view. They’ve done a lot to restore the area, like spending $20 million on the Visitor’s Center. They’ve done a whole lot of good for the Lands End area.” It helps to be in Speaker Pelosi’s district, no? “The biggest challenge we’ve had is to

make a balance between the old and the new, and we’ve done that.” Clyde couldn’t agree more Kev – see you soon for sunset jazz in the Sutro Bar, and no whiners allowed. Cliff House: 1090 Point Lobos Avenue, 415-386-3330, www.cliffhouse.com Sutro’s: Mon.–Fri., 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. The Bistro: Mon.–Sat., 9 a.m.–9:30 p.m.; Sun., 8:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.

BOOMERCIZE WITH COW HOLLOWʼS MARCIE JUDELSON

CLYDE LOVES THE DUNGENESS CRAB

BISQUE AT SUTROʼS AT THE CLIFF HOUSE

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLIFF HOUSE

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUTROʼS AT THE CLIFF HOUSE

BLANCHE HAS BEEN WAITING TABLES AT THE CLIFF HOUSE FOR 37 YEARS

GREAT FOOD, GREAT VIEWS, GOOD TUNES AT SUTROʼS AT THE CLIFF HOUSE

NETTIE HERSELF! NETTIEʼS CRAB SHACK

OWNER ANNETTE YANG